Thursday, February 21, 2013

Florida, Day 3

I took advantage of the opportunity to avoid the alarm clock
on Day 3, and was finally able to catch up on some much needed sleep. My only
responsibility for the day would be to conduct a staff training session late in
the afternoon. I had to take care of some last minute photo editing for a slide
show that would be part of my presentation; after that I had just enough time
for a brief outing to the Tequesta Brewing Company, a local brewpub a few towns
north of where I was staying.

I went with a Kölsch, which was a nice, enjoyable beer, but
not really true to the authentic style of its namesake. Even though I only had
time for one drink, I did manage to sneak in a small sample of a Russian
Imperial Stout. It started off quite promising, with good flavor development
and complexity, but unfortunately turned astringent as it moved into the
finish. I liked the layout and feel of the place; the beer was okay but
definitely not in the same league as what’s being made at Cigar City Brewing
over in Tampa.

After a quick change of clothes, I was off to make myy
presentation. The thought of sharing my knowledge of and passion for whisky
with the club’s food & beverage staff was quite appealing to me. The
reality of the scenario was a bit different than my idealistic vision though. I
was going to be working with a group of nearly 50 people, who had greatly
varying levels of whisky knowledge. On top of that, I was asked to keep the
session down to 30 minutes, 40 at the most. I would have preferred to have some
interaction from the group, but the circumstances would limit this to being
more of a lecture.

I decided to focus on Scotch Whisky and try to avoid the
esoteric tangents that I love so much. We started off with some basic
definitions to make sure everyone was on the same page before moving on to the
proper pronunciation of distillery names. Following that was a basic talk about
Scotland’s
whisky producing regions. We then went through an overview of the whisky making
process, which was accompanied by pictures I took while enrolled in the Springbank Whisky School.
Stretching my time limit to the max, I managed to briefly touch on a few
advanced topics during the last couple of minutes.

All things considered, I think the session was a success,
with everyone gaining at least some knowledge. If the trip is repeated next
year, perhaps it would be better to give a brief pre-test and split the group
into two, based on the results. A basic course could be given to those without
a strong base of knowledge, and for the more advanced group we could spend time
discussing details about the individual whiskies that the club has on offer.

By a stroke of good luck (actually, it was probably down to
good planning on my host’s part), there was a bourbon tasting at the club just
a few hours after my training session ended. Of course there too much
conversation for any sort of tasting notes, but I still managed to pick up some
good information.

The Jim Beam Small Batch Bourbons, Makers Mark, and several
Wild Turkey products were being showcased. I started off with a head-to-head of
the standard Maker’s Mark and the Maker’s 46, with the sales rep explaining
that the 46 starts off the same as the regular Maker’s, but after the normal
period of aging time, charred French oak staves are put inside the barrels and
it is left to age a bit longer (I think she said around 6 more months). It is
then bottled at 94 proof, as opposed to the 90 proof of regular Maker’s Mark.

When I wandered around to the other side of the display setup,
the first thing that caught my eye was a small bottle of clear liquid. I had to
ask if it was available to taste! To my surprise, the answer was an
enthusiastic yes, and the next thing I knew there was a glass of Wild Turkey
“white dog” in my hand. A few bourbon distillers have made their “white dog”
(the whiskey as it comes off the still, prior to dilution and aging)
commercially available, but Wild Turkey is not one of them, so this sample was
a nice treat. It was shockingly smooth for 130 proof.

A bottle of Wild Turkey American Honey sparked a
conversation about my lack of interest in the flavored whiskey category,
although I was willing to admit that I had sampled a few and felt that some
were certainly better made than others. With all the skill of a good salesman,
the WT rep convinced me to taste their American Honey offering (I’d tried it
before, but that was at least a few years ago). As I suspected, it was good for
what it was supposed to be, but not really my cup of tea. Next he convinced me
to try it mixed 50/50 with lemonade on ice, in spite of my warnings that I
really wasn’t a cocktail drinker. God damn, that was mighty tasty! Okay, maybe
I could see myself sipping on one of those on a hot summer day.

To round things out I sampled the new Wild Turkey 81 proof (a
replacement for the old 80 proof), which has a label that matches the revamped
design on the 101 proof bottles. While it’s a “no age statement” bourbon, the
81 is supposedly averaging a good bit more time in the barrel the 80 used to.
Also, a few other changes were made to ensure a more consistent product.
Overall, I still prefer Wild Turkey 101, but the 81 proof seems to be a
significant improvement over the 80 proof, rather than a mere bump in alcohol
level to make the new label stand out as I had assumed.

Of course, I did manage to wrap the night up with a glass of
single malt, a bit of solitude, and some proper tasting notes. Caol Ila 12 yr,
43% abv:

The nose is full and
peaty, but in a manner that is elevated and fresh, rather than being outright
dense. Rich of body and oily in texture, in spite of its lighter color. Peat
smoke is the dominant flavor, but not to the point of being out of balance. The
alcohol adds weight without going too far. Evolves nicely through the long finish,
with heat, peat and spice all taking their turns at the fore. Well made and
quite enjoyable, but lacking the level of depth and complexity of some of its
competitors.

It was certainly nice to have a brief change of scenery and
weather. Many thanks go out to the management, staff and members of Frenchman’s
Creek Beach & Country Club for their generous hospitality, and for making
my working whisky vacation possible.